{"name":"Palestine","slug":"palestine","description":"Why do Muslims care so much about Palestine? Answers to common questions about Masjid al-Aqsa, Jerusalem, and Gaza, the history of the land, the Nakba, Zionism, and what Muslims can do for Palestine.","summary":"Palestine is home to Masjid al-Aqsa, the first qibla and one of the three holiest sites for Muslims, in a land the Qur’an calls blessed and ties to many prophets. Below are clear, sourced answers to common questions about Jerusalem’s history, the Holy Land in scripture, the Nakba, Zionism, Gaza, and how Muslims can support Palestine.","quick_facts":[{"text":"Masjid al-Aqsa refers to the entire walled compound in Jerusalem, not only the Dome of the Rock, and is one of the three holiest sites for Muslims alongside the sacred mosques of Mecca and Medina. It was the first qibla, the direction Muslims faced in prayer for roughly sixteen to seventeen months after the migration to Medina. During the Night Journey, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ led the earlier prophets in prayer there before ascending to the heavens.","source":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/why-is-quds-jerusalem-so-special-al-aqsa-series"},{"text":"The Qur’an describes Palestine and the wider region of al-Sham as “the land that We blessed,” (21:71) home to Abraham, Solomon, Jesus, and many other prophets. It affirms that the Children of Israel were favored in their time, but Muslim scholars read that choosing as a religious responsibility, not a permanent ethnic claim to territory. The Qur’an ties inheritance of the land to righteousness, and its “Children of Israel” is a scriptural community, not the modern state founded in 1948.","source":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/who-are-the-chosen-ones-the-qurans-correction-of-the-bible-on-the-election-of-the-children-of-israel"},{"text":"Jerusalem came under Muslim rule in 637, when Umar ibn al-Khattab accepted its peaceful surrender, guaranteed the safety of its people and places of worship, and allowed Jews to return after Byzantine exclusion. Salahuddin retook the city from the crusaders in 1187 and spared its inhabitants. For centuries Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together across Palestine, and today’s conflict is rooted in colonialism and dispossession, not an ancient religious feud.","source":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/roman-emperor-who-almost-became-muslim-and-conquest-of-jerusalem-alaqsa"},{"text":"The state of Israel was established through the Nakba of 1947 to 1948, when Zionist militias destroyed around 530 Palestinian villages and forced more than 700,000 Palestinians into exile. In March 2024, a report to the UN Human Rights Council concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Zionism is a political ideology distinct from Judaism; not all Jews are Zionists, not all Zionists are Jews, and opposing Zionism is not antisemitism.","source":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/zionism-one-thousand-year-in-the-making-al-aqsa"},{"text":"The suffering in Gaza is the result of human oppression, and the Qur’an presents such trials as a test for the oppressors, the oppressed, and everyone watching. Muslims are called to pair duʿāʾ (supplication) with action: giving charity, countering misinformation, speaking against injustice, joining ethical boycotts, building principled alliances, and fighting injustice. The Qur’an ties the future of Jerusalem to justice, warning that power built on oppression does not endure.","source":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/why-do-people-suffer-gods-existence-the-problem-of-evil"}],"url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine","mdUrl":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine.md","section_count":21,"sections":[{"question":"Why do Muslims care so much about Palestine?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#why-do-muslims-care-so-much-about-palestine"},{"question":"What exactly is Masjid al-Aqsa? Is it just the Dome of the Rock? Is it the same thing as the Temple Mount? Or are these things different?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#what-exactly-is-masjid-al-aqsa-is-it-just-the-dome-of-the-rock-is-it-the-same-thing-as-the-temple-mount-or-are-these-things-different"},{"question":"Was al-Aqsa really the first place Muslims prayed toward?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#was-al-aqsa-really-the-first-place-muslims-prayed-toward"},{"question":"What is the Night Journey (Isra and Miʿraj), and what does it have to do with Jerusalem?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#what-is-the-night-journey-isra-and-mi-raj-and-what-does-it-have-to-do-with-jerusalem"},{"question":"Which prophets are connected to Palestine and Jerusalem?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#which-prophets-are-connected-to-palestine-and-jerusalem"},{"question":"Why is Gaza so significant to Muslims?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#why-is-gaza-so-significant-to-muslims"},{"question":"How did Muslims first come to rule Jerusalem?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#how-did-muslims-first-come-to-rule-jerusalem"},{"question":"Who was Salahuddin (Saladin)?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#who-was-salahuddin-saladin"},{"question":"Does the Qur’an say the Holy Land was promised to the Jewish people?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#does-the-qur-an-say-the-holy-land-was-promised-to-the-jewish-people"},{"question":"How do the “Children of Israel” in the Qur’an differ from the citizens of the modern state of Israel?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#how-do-the-children-of-israel-in-the-qur-an-differ-from-the-citizens-of-the-modern-state-of-israel"},{"question":"Is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a religious conflict?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#is-the-palestinian-israeli-conflict-a-religious-conflict"},{"question":"Israelis and Palestinians … Muslims and Jews … “they’ve been fighting each other over there for thousands of years.” Is this accurate?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#israelis-and-palestinians-muslims-and-jews-they-ve-been-fighting-each-other-over-there-for-thousands-of-years-is-this-accurate"},{"question":"Did Palestinian Muslims and Christians resist colonial rule together?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#did-palestinian-muslims-and-christians-resist-colonial-rule-together"},{"question":"Are all Palestinians Muslim?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#are-all-palestinians-muslim"},{"question":"What is the Nakba?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#what-is-the-nakba"},{"question":"Is it accurate to describe what is happening in Palestine or specifically in Gaza as a genocide?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#is-it-accurate-to-describe-what-is-happening-in-palestine-or-specifically-in-gaza-as-a-genocide"},{"question":"I have heard people describe Israel and Israelis as Zionists. What is Zionism and what does it mean to be a Zionist? Are all Jews Zionists?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#i-have-heard-people-describe-israel-and-israelis-as-zionists-what-is-zionism-and-what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-zionist-are-all-jews-zionists"},{"question":"Isn’t being anti-Zionist or anti-Israel anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#isn-t-being-anti-zionist-or-anti-israel-anti-semitic-or-anti-jewish"},{"question":"What is the wisdom behind the suffering in Gaza?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#what-is-the-wisdom-behind-the-suffering-in-gaza"},{"question":"What can Muslims actually do for Palestine?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#what-can-muslims-actually-do-for-palestine"},{"question":"What do the Qur’an and Sunnah say about the future of Jerusalem?","url":"https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about/palestine#what-do-the-qur-an-and-sunnah-say-about-the-future-of-jerusalem"}]}